1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a restraint device for a bed in a motor vehicle, especially a large motor vehicle such as a truck.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Long haul trucking plays a major role in North American shipping. For reasons of economy and convenience, long haul truck tractors are provided with sleepers, semi-enclosed sections of the vehicle cabs extending behind the operator section of the cab. The use of a sleeper on a truck allows the driver to rest and sleep when on the road and away from home. Sleepers typically include one or more bunks for sleeping, and sometimes amenities such as tables, chairs, storage closets and the like. Living space is at a premium in these sections, in part because the permissible length of the compartments is severely limited by legal limitations on the overall length of vehicles and the need to protect the swing clearance area for a trailer attached to the truck tractor's fifth wheel. Therefore, overhead fold down beds provide additional sleeping accommodations in limited space. Due to space constraints, access to the berths is typically limited to one side of the berth.
Being located within the cab structure, the furniture within the sleeper section must meet various performance requirements associated with the proper operation of the vehicle. The beds, whether a built-in bunk or overhead fold down bed, must meet various crash test standards in order to protect the vulnerable occupant sleeping on the bed during a crash.
A fold down bed not only has to meet crash standards, but the bed has to easily fold up and down and lock into a desired position. The beds typically have a net restraint system to protect the occupant. In the prior art shown in FIG. 9, the front of the bed frame 112 receives the load from the restraint system 114. Because the load is concentrated in only two spots in the front, the load can distort the frame. To reduce or prevent this distortion, extra straps are needed for even load distribution.
Therefore, it would be an advantage to produce a restraint system for a bed that distributes the load from the restraint system somewhere other than only the front of the bed frame. It would also be advantageous to produce a restraint system for a bed that does not easily distort the bed during a crash situation.